


Anti Coffee Shops

by brakestoosoon



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-11 04:16:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8953357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brakestoosoon/pseuds/brakestoosoon
Summary: Harry wondered how long he’d have to keep both these secrets for. Maybe that could be the right thing to do, this time. Maybe detaching himself from him would make his soulmate happy. Maybe he could live with that. After all, soulmates were supposed to want the best for each other, right?Then why was he feeling so selfish about this?





	1. Coffee Shops Are Cancelled.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to Anti Coffee Shops and thank you for reading! Please enjoy:)

**H A R R Y .**

It's early in the morning. Harry would probably sleep on the floor of the coffee shop if he could. But alas, here he and El were at five in the morning at Starbucks, opening the shop and waiting for the first few ~~early~~ insane customers to start trickling in. The usual day in the life of a university student. Or, well, it _should've_ been, but since morning, Harry’s been feeling something buzzing in the air. He can't quite explain it, all he knows is that he hasn't stopped rubbing the inside of his wrist since about ten minutes ago, and it was starting to become red and irritated from his rubbing and scratching.

"Shit," he muttered when his nail dug into his skin and tore it open, leaving him with a gash. "El, help me take care of the counter!" he yelled across the cafe as he went into the back area to search for a plaster. The red string that's attached to him at that same area seemed to become a little redder than usual, but he assumed it was just because he's bleeding.

Oh right.

The red string.

See, everyone has a piece of red string attached to their inner wrist. It's just that almost everyone can't see it. Even knowing someone that could was extremely rare. On the other end of the string is another person, or more importantly, your soulmate. Everyone wants to know who their soulmate is, but few actually do. The thing is, Harry kinda does. He sees the piece of red thread extending into the distance, penetrate walls, but never end. He's one of those "special" people who can see the string. Unfortunately, if Harry were being honest, he’d tell you it was much more of a burden than it was a blessing.

Firstly, if anybody found out that he could see the strings, they usually do two things. One, they constantly ask him in which direction their soulmate is, and when he points in the direction the string is heading, they say something completely idiotic like “isn’t that the east? Does that mean I’ll have an Asian boyfriend?” He didn’t mind the first few, but _goddamn_ it’s been almost a decade now, and he can’t stand it. The second thing, though, is the reason why he keeps his talent a secret. They’d ask him to snip the strings of their own soulmate, and attach it to their current boyfriend or girlfriend. Was it possible? Yes. Was it difficult? Not really. Was it heartbreaking, though? To see that they wouldn’t even take a second glance at whoever their destined one is, having such bad tunnel vision that all they want is to spend “the rest of their lives” with someone whom they’d met for only a couple months?

Yes. All the time. Every single time.

So he stopped telling people. It was none of their business, anyway.

And, speaking of this being a burden, really, as Harry walked back out towards the counter, he watched his string stretch before him, as he always does, but this time, he saw it _end_.

He looked up, and in front of him was a man, probably around his age. He's got the bluest eyes Harry had seen in his entire life, or maybe he was just being bias because _I'm tied to him oh my god he's my soulmate_. He's a tad shorter than him, but has a gorgeous build, and the man's features - they were soft, a little tousled, and Harry could finally understand what a _soulmate_ is. That moment of pure attraction, the following feelings of awe and joy washing over him… Harry almost stepped forward, almost reached out, but then he started to notice the rest of the world again. The man winked, winked at El, and El looked down, blushing and twirling her perfectly curled hair around her index finger. The man laughed and brushed her fringe away from her face, and El fluttered her eyelashes. TL;DR: she’s got him wrapped around her finger.

Harry felt his heart sink to his stomach. A moment he'd been waiting for his whole life, and it ends up feeling like this? He could see the string, throbbing wildly, screaming for attention. A small thought passed through his mind, a thought that he never thought ever would. He wondered if he should snip the string between him and this new man, end it before he really got attached, and link him with El. He wondered if it would get to that point. He wondered how long he’d have to keep both these secrets for. Maybe that could be the right thing to do, this time. Maybe that would make his soulmate happy. Maybe he could live with that. After all, soulmates were supposed to want the best for each other, right?

Then why was he feeling so selfish about this?

"Harry? Caramel frappe, grande." El waved at him, a little concerned look on her face. Harry snapped back to reality.

"Oh, um, yeah. Okay. I got it. Whipped cream?"

The man turned towards him, nodded with a small smile on his face, and Harry had to physically pry his eyes away, shuffling over to grab a cup. "And your name?"

"Louis.”

_Louis._

Something told him that he’d have that name and voice etched into his memory for a long time to come. Whether he’d see this man ever again or not. He set himself to work on the frappe, trying his best to drown out the sound of El’s giggles and Louis’ voice.

 

So few people even know who their soulmate is, talk about meeting them at the right place and right time, and managing to spend the rest of their lives with them. Harry would know. He can so vividly remember the countless weddings he attended, just to see the bride's and groom's strings heading in the opposite directions of each other. It wasn't their fault, and it's not Louis' fault this time that he flirted with his soulmate's best friend in front of his soulmate either, but still. He liked to think that he was given this talent to be able to, you know, find his soulmate.

Tough luck on that, he figured.

After that day, neither of them really mentioned Louis again, well, other than that one occasion that they were walking back to their dorms after lessons and Harry found out that Louis and El had kept in touch and were 'kind of seeing each other, I don't know', and 'I think I really really like him'. He'll admit his heart twisted a little at that, but after mulling about his unfortunate luck with this soulmate, he was starting to be able to accept it as a fairytale that would never happen, a concept that will never leave the pages of paper.

A couple weeks after El's admission, Harry found himself perching on the counter of Starbucks at a more decent time of the day, that is, 8pm this time. A couple stepped in, and the sudden introduction of laughter was a stark contrast to the quiet of the shop. Harry raised his head, before his eyebrows did as well in surprise, when he saw they shared their string of fate. He smiled to himself. Given the fact that the last few weeks he'd been spending his free time sulking about his lost love, seeing that comforted him a little, because at least _someone_ was getting it right in the soulmate department.

"So, soulmates, eh?" Harry said casually as he tapped in the couple's orders. He was careless with his words in that moment, but given that you don't usually meet people that you serve casually on the street and start making friends, he wasn't too concerned. The couple's eyes widened at the same time and for once, for once the fact that he could see the strings was not the focus. Harry smiled to himself and made their drinks as they both teared up and embraced, whispering sweet nothings to each other. His heart melted, and he thought that maybe the gods above were trying to remind him that sometimes, talents weren't always about himself. Well, if it were the case, he appreciated the reminder. He watched the couple leave with a dazed smile on his face, glad that he made two people happy today. That daze didn't last long, though, because an icy voice cut through the silence of the shop.

"You can see them?"

Harry froze.

“And you didn’t tell me?” The sound of betrayal is crystal clear in El’s voice. And Harry knows she has every right to be mad. They’re best friends, for pete’s sake. They tell each other everything. Or, at least, almost everything. And this information was definitely a big deal. He turned slowly towards her, unable to meet her eyes.

“Sorry,” Harry whispered. He didn’t know what else to say. He didn’t know how to begin explaining, the complications that these few weeks brought, how much he just _really couldn’t let anyone know right now_. It was way too much on his shoulders. El sighed, and her shoulders sagged. Harry water to slap himself for making her feel that way.

“Harry, I thought we promised. We’d tell each other everything. What… why was there an exception?”

“Look, I haven’t told anyone since I was nineteen. It’s been a pain most of the time. I feel… more normal, when no one knows,” Harry began to explain, but he kept feeling like they were just excuses, empty excuses.

“So, you didn’t trust me enough to think I wouldn’t do anything with that information that you didn’t want me to?”

“El, no, I didn’t even…”

“Look.” El crossed her arms in that way that Harry instantly recognised she did when she was defensive and annoyed. “If you really do trust me enough, you’ll answer this question and trust I won’t tell anyone.”

“Anything.”

Finally looking up to meet Harry’s eyes, she asked slowly. “You saw Louis and I. That day. Here. Are we… soulmates?”

Harry’s eyes widened, and he automatically took a step back. Wait, it had gone that far already? That incident happened barely two months ago, and El was already wondering if they were _soulmates_? "Why do you… want to know?"

"I want to know that you'll trust me with that information. Trust me not to tell Louis."

And honestly, El could've asked anything of him, but not that. Harry's not sure what came over him in that moment, all he knew is that his brain was shouting 'mission abort' at him and feeling like _this was a bad idea. This was a really bad idea._ Looking back, he could've just shook his head no and gotten that over and done with, and it would've been the truth, but he guessed something told him that leaving out the piece of information on who Louis' soulmate actually was would be as good as lying when it came to El.

So he kept silent.

"So I was right. You don't trust me." She huffed incredulously, threw her apron onto the counter and stormed out of the cafe.

Harry closed up and walked home himself that night.


	2. A Supernatural Sensation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis really hoped that it was just the 5am daze, because suddenly taking so much interest in two people at the same time was kind of creepy, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this. chapter. is. 3012. words. long. how.

**L O U I S .**

Louis thought about the first time he met El as he waited for her outside the dorms of his school. He's in the same university, but while he took a degree in performing arts, El was in political science, so it was no wonder that they'd never met before. It was so early in the morning, god, but he had to be up to do some directing for a particular scene that had to be filmed during sunrise. So, he decided to go to the nearby Starbucks and grab a frappe, hoping the coldness and minimum caffeine would jerk him awake without him having to deal with a post caffeine crash later on the the day. There seemed to only be one girl running the whole shop, and anyway, Louis was feeling pretty young and reckless himself, so naturally, the most young and reckless thing you could do at 5.15am after having dragged yourself out of the house 5 minutes before would be to flirt with the girl behind the counter. The girl, Eleanor, was pretty cute, and he definitely didn't mind that they had agreed to hang out, see each other, maybe. But at the back of his mind, he remembered the guy that appeared a moment later. For a split second, he was afraid that he'd accidentally gone and flirted with someone else's girlfriend, but then he started to notice something. The man was upset, a bit. He was trying to hide it. But there was no feeling of possession laced with it. Resignation, maybe. Disappointment, a tinge. But Eleanor was not his girlfriend. He didn't know how he knew, he just did. And, as he continued talking to El while the other man made his drink, he realised he didn't even have to really look at the man to be aware of his aura. He knew that this man wished he could be asleep, but working here at this time of the day was pretty normal for him. His relationship with Eleanor was somewhat close. But something was beginning to make him feel tense about it.

He'll admit, it scared him a little, how easily he read this guy. Hell, he didn't even know his name! And yet, when he looked at him, it was like reading an open book, thoughts and ideas flooding his mind, almost as if he'd stepped into the man's mind. He really hoped that it was just the 5am daze, because suddenly taking so much interest in two people at the same time was kind of creepy, to say the least.

But, back to the matter at hand. El walked out, looking pretty adorable in a sweater and beanie, and the two decided to take a walk at the nearby park, stopping briefly to each pick up a sugar doughnut and hot chocolate before taking a seat on the bench, chatting and eating.

"Yeah, his name is Liam. It's a really funny story, we used to hate each other's guts. I was constantly pulling weird shit on him and he wasn't having it. But I got pranked by him recently, so I'd say I still won that fight in the end," Louis laughed. He was talking about his roommate. El laughed along.

"I kinda wish I was close to my roommate, but really, I'm not. Most of the time I'm just hanging out with Harry."

"Harry? Who's Harry?"

"Oh, the guy you met at Starbucks when we met. Remember? Curly, brown hair, huge green eyes."

A tiny part of him quipped that he probably couldn't forget _Harry_ if he tried.

"Oh, yeah, that guy. Poor thing," he mumbled quietly.

"Poor thing? Why?"

"I dunno…? I kind of… sensed some emotional conflict in him." _I sensed that he had some issue with us hanging out, and I sensed that it wasn't exactly about you, and I'm starting to wonder if it's got something to do with me._

"Thank god, I thought I was the only one who sensed it. He seems tense, these few days."

The conversation seemed to go off on a tangent. They talked about each other's best friends and roommates, and Louis noticed that they could easily talk to each other, whether it was about themselves or others. It was nice to just be casual with someone, all of his other friends were really high strung in his opinion. El was a breath of fresh air that he gladly welcomed, and every time they went out, they'd arrange for another time to hang out two weeks later. They continued to text and call, becoming closer and closer as time went on.

As the weeks went on, having El around as a friend, a shoulder and a confidant was comforting, and he was starting to settle in on the idea that he could become really close to her.

Still, finding her crying outside his apartment just short of two months after their first date was kind of shocking.

"I just need to talk to someone that isn't Harry right now," she explained, but didn't say much more, so Louis took her in, ignoring the weird look that Liam shot him, letting her sit on his bed and cry in his arms. She didn't really have to explain though, because Louis almost immediately knew that she had fought with Harry. He tried to reach out the same way he accidentally did in the coffee shop, studying El and trying to piece together what had her end up here. He sensed something, but he wasn't sure that this was coming from El. Guilt. Fear. A secret. He wasn't able to see through as easily, which made him figure that this supernatural weird thing would probably be stronger when he was around Harry, or in coffee shops. 

But that wasn't his main focus right now. 

Harry messed up something, kept something from El and that hurt her. He wanted to ask what it was, but didn't want to alarm El and make her thing he was doing some psychoanalytical witchcraft, so he held her and rocked her in his arms, murmuring, "Hey, 

Louis spent that night curled protectively around El. Well shit, she was kind of growing on him. There was no question that they could be best friends, but, more?

Sometimes he wished he could perform that supernatural witchcraft thing on El.

 

The next time he visited Starbucks, he made sure El wouldn't be there, and prayed to the gods of coincidence or something that Harry would. He had to get to the bottom of this, and hopefully fix whatever mess they'd created for themselves. Clearly, it wasn't doing any of them any good. Thankfully, Louis' prayers were answered, because Harry was flashing his usual cheeky smile at the customer in front of him, before he turned to Louis.

"Welcome to Starbucks, how may I hel…" Harry stopped himself when he met Louis' eyes, coughed awkwardly and looked down. Again, Louis felt a rush of emotions that weren't his, much clearer now that he was in Harry's presence. Fear. A secret. A slight sense of… indignation?

"El's not here. Sorry man," Harry said, looking over as if he was going to dismiss Louis completely and move away. _Oh._ Louis stopped him with a hand on his wrist.

"I didn't come here to see her."

Harry turned slowly, his hand frozen on top of the cashier, Louis' palm still on top of his. "Then why did you come?" Harry asked slowly, cautiously. Louis wanted to wrap him up in a blanket burrito and maybe another layer of bubble wrap or something.

"Because I was looking for you."

Harry was visibly surprised, and his big eyes widened even further, but still, the guarded look wouldn't leave his eyes, and he fiddled with the cashier, mumbling out a curt, "What do you want?"

"Look, I know you probably didn't mean to hurt El like that, but since you did, you probably should be starting to make amends, shouldn't you? What are you hiding from her, anyway?" Louis asked. Actually, he intended to stick to casual conversation and ween his way into getting Harry to confess some things that he apparently already knew, but he caught himself a little too late, realising that he'd just blurted out everything that was on his mind to him. Harry looked like he had a thousand emotions hit him at the same time, but Louis primarily sensed shock, and irritation.

"That's none of your business. And neither is El and my problem. Now, if you would please…"

"El's fighting with her best friend, I've to at least try to help fix it to some degree, right?"

Harry winced, and looked away wordlessly. Louis' eyes followed him as closely as they could.

"I know you feel guilty about it. I also know it's not as simple as just telling her and the whole problem is solved, or you would do that. But surely ignoring her and scheduling your shifts around hers is not the best you could do, right?"

When Harry finally spoke again, his voice is small. "How do you know all of that?"

Louis made a face at that. "I'm not too sure ether, if I'm being honest. You're an open book to me. I always seem to know how you're feeling, just by looking at you. Maybe you're a really obvious person," he shrugged. Okay, that last sentence was questionable. It didn't explain why he knew that Harry was holding a secret, or why he knew what was going on when El was crying in his arms. While Louis himself found this phenomenon creepy and shocking, Harry didn't seem to, in fact, he looked as if it was to be expected, or something.

"Maybe," Harry offered in reply, shrugging. It was a few seconds before he finally relented.

"I can't tell El because it'll break her heart. I mean, I could omit some information, but once I open that can of worms, she's not gonna stop digging, and then she's gonna regret it. And I can't have that. She really likes you, Louis."

"So this _does_ have something to do with me! I knew it! Okay, go on."

Harry looked like a deer caught in headlights, lips pressed together and doe eyes shining in fear.

"…I've said too much. No, this has nothing to…"

Louis stopped Harry again, before he walked around the counter, barging into Harry's side of the counter. Crowding into his space, holding his forearms. "Harry, it's okay."

And that's all it really needed for Harry's eyes to flutter shut, and his head to drop on Louis' shoulder. "Can I tell you a secret?" He asked in a whisper.

"Anything." Louis wrapped one arm around Harry's waist, and the other rubbed his back.

"I… I can see the soulmates… the string that connects…" Louis gasped audibly, holding Harry even closer as if he needed to be protected. That was a big secret to hide from people, and this ability wasn't exactly a quick fun fact that you told random people. It was a pretty big deal, and Louis knew why that would upset El. He didn't say much though, trying to piece together all the information that Harry had given him.

_break her heart…_

_regret it…_

_see soulmates…_

_Oh._

"El and I aren't soulmates," Louis whispered definitively. Harry looked on the verge of bursting into tears when he uttered those words, but nevertheless, he gave a small nod in confirmation. 

He didn't really know how to feel about that. If he were being honest, he himself had never wondered if he and El were soulmates. In fact, he didn't even think so. Yes, he got to know El well very quickly, but at the same time, it didn't have that other-worldly feeling that people often talked about when it came to soulmates. If there was more to soulmates, then Louis was glad, but at the same time, he didn't want El to be heartbroken because they weren't destined to be together. 

"Please don't tell El. I'll let her know when I'm ready." Louis nodded, releasing Harry from his grip when he heard the sound of he door of the shop opening. Seeing as Harry looked shaken, and definitely not ready to serve a customer, he pushed Harry to the side and flashed his chirpiest smile. "Hi, how may I help you?" He heard a quiet laugh off to his side as he tried to work the cashier without making it too obvious that he had honestly never before seen this machine from this angle. "…That would be four-fifty, thank you." Harry busied himself with making the drinks, expertly mixing various powders and syrups together, and blending it to make the drinks. Louis almost yelped when while he was looking for the place that the receipts came out of, he almost got hit in the face by it. While it was completely embarrassing, at least it elicited a snort from Harry, and he grinned goofily at him while handing the customer the receipt.

The day was easy, in this way. Louis ended up staying to help out, and Harry taught him all the abbreviations for the various drinks so he could write on the cup instead of Harry having to. Louis most definitely had the time of his life spelling everybody's names wrong. One part of him kind of wanted to turn into an internet meme or something, but he did it mostly to watch Harry holding in his laughter as he called out the names of Jawn and Jaeen. Their rhythm was comfortable and easy, and during the small periods of time when there were no customers, he and Harry would chat about everything and anything, from their interests (Louis found out that they were both into music), to funny horror stories of their life, to personal philosophies they had. He didn't feel the pressure to have to try and connect or impress Harry, there was just this unexplainable comfort that sunk into his bones, telling him that Harry would accept him for exactly who he is, no games, no lies. It was different from being self-confident. This felt more like being so confident of someone else you trust them with your confidence. Those few hours of Harry's shift, falling into the habit of working with each other so easily was _different_ from anything he'd experienced before, because suddenly he felt like this easiness could be applied to so many more things in life and…

Louis was conflicted.

On one hand, he knew El was interested. And before this, he was planning on entertaining it for as long as he could, because she was a really really wonderful girl and Louis liked her too. He just wasn't sure if he wanted her in that way.

On the other hand, every time a small chortle escaped Harry's lips, Louis would find his heart fluttering just the slightest. Every time they locked gaze, Louis would find it hard to turn away. When he leaned into Harry, his mind short circuited and he relaxed almost immediately. Harry was warm, okay?

Finally, Harry's shift was over, and they packed up a bit and let the next bunch take over. Louis felt a twinge of disappointment - he realised that he wanted to spend more time with Harry. The boy was funny and adorable, but also mature and wise. He never did things for no reason, and Louis admired that a lot.

"Harry - promise me something. Tell El, okay? She deserves to know."

Instantly, Harry's face turned solemn and he nodded, about to walk away from Louis. "Thank you for sticking around with me. I had a good time today."

"Me too. Bye, Harry." They shot each other shy smiles before Louis walked back to his apartment, his heart hammering in his chest and his mind a complete mess.

It was a couple of days later when he met El again. She had a huge smile on her face, and Louis instantly knew that she and Harry had made up. She hadn’t been this chirpy in weeks. "Louis!" El hugged him with a little more excitement than she usually did. "I've got something really awesome to tell you!"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"So, I talked to Harry, and I got him to agree to linking our strings together!"

_What._

"He can snip off our current ones and tie ours to each other. Then, we'll be soulmates. Isn't that amazing?" El gushed. "I mean, of course, we don't have to rush into anything. It doesn't mean we have to, like, get married and have kids now or anything. He'll just tie us together so we have a closer connection, he says maybe if we do make it far he'll consider solidifying our knot. So it's not that intimidating, really," she rambled on, holding onto Louis' hands tightly. “And, if it does go wrong, he can can just untie it, no problem. It just… gives our relationship that shot, you know?”

Honestly, it did sound like a marvellous idea. Tie their strings together so they're close but it's not permanent, just in case, and should they choose to want to make it permanent, that could happen later. Louis saw the appeal. But you see, Louis was never really the type to mess with fate. Fate was tricky, but it had it’s own way of working out. If it didn't, sometimes Louis wondered where he'd be. In depression and running from the law or something, probably. He wasn't usually one to follow by rules, or let things be, but he liked to think he also knew when to be hands off, and this was a similar time. Louis considered his options: if he said no, he'd probably be dumped on the spot, if he said yes, he could have more time to decide what to do, and, well.

He'd get to see Harry again. And seeing Harry is kind of always a good time.

"Okay, we'll do it. When?"


	3. The Right Kind of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _My dear soulmate,_ Harry thought to himself, his eyes fluttering shut, _I have adored you for the short time that I've had the pleasure to be yours._

**H A R R Y .**

Louis has definitely had his finer moments. Harry was pretty sure of it. Sitting on the couch together as El was in the ladies, Louis mumbled out a quiet confession that he wasn't sure about this at all. While he had his arm wrapped around El when they first entered his dorm, now, he seemed to drop the 'strong and protective' act that he had around her, and now looked a bit more like a tiny kitten, curled up and mumbling confessions that Harry wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear, but payed attention anyway. Sighing quietly, he let his hand tangle itself in _his soulmate's_ hair, gently massaging his scalp.

For a moment, he wondered how he ended up here.

The pure fascination that Harry had with Louis took more than a while to ebb away. Especially on the day that Louis payed him a surprise visit, he had to desperately school his features so he didn't practically melt right there in front of Louis. Really, it felt like because they were soulmates, because they were linked, Louis knew exactly what to do and say to make him laugh and put him in a better mood, letting him take his mind off El, but at the same time, reminding him that he he needed to solve the problem. Using his bluntness and curiosity to make him open up, and never once making him feel like he was immature for doing what he did. He wondered if he could be happy for what it was, for the few moments he got to treasure before it was all over.

"Well, the good thing is, it's not permanent. So you don't have to commit to her for the rest of your life, if you don't have to."

"Yeah, but I sacrifice that… person… out there… who are they?" the sound of the door opening alerted the both of them, and they sat up abruptly, Louis scooting over to the other end of the couch again.

"Okay, so, how does this work?"

"I'm just gonna use a spell to snip both of your threads first, I’ll probably need to do some stuff to make it more fragile than it usually is so I can cut it, and then I'll tie the two together and try to strengthen it as much as possible, but of course, it'll be quite much weaker than your usual soulmate bond, because it's not permanent. Um… should you ever choose to have it be permanently joined," he swallowed thickly at the thought, "there is a spell that can seal your strings together. If you guys want that, you know." Both Louis and El nodded, holding each others' hands. Ironically, as Harry noticed, the hands that both did not have a thread attached to it.

"You guys ready?" Harry reached out a hand towards Louis', which Louis took with a smile. Harry felt that small flicker on his wrist; a little buzz of static that would go unnoticed by anyone else, but a sign that their hands were so close together that there wasn't even a string in between their wrists.

Harry liked that feeling. He wondered if he'd ever be able to feel that again.

He stood up and motioned for them to stand in a circle together. "Okay, I guess I'll, uh, do Louis' first." Honestly, Harry just wanted to have his part over and done with as soon as he could. It was hard enough, having to break apart a pair of soulmates, but specifically _his_? It wasn't just upsetting, it was terrifying. Since the distance that Louis and Harry's thread spanned was only a foot or so, it was going to be pretty tough to snip. Harry took Louis' wrist, deciding to try to put their wrists really close to each other and pull away quickly. He spent a couple of nights digging up whatever information about this process he could, because he'd never really done something like this before, and he remembered glancing over a page that had said something on the lines of that.

When their wrists touched at the exact point that their threads were, Harry had to hold his breath and school his features so he wouldn't give away the feeling that that moment of contact gave him. Louis' hand tightened on his forearm, and his eyes widened slightly, but he didn't react much, and neither did he say anything. Harry pulled away quickly to see the thread become a tad thinner, just enough for him to be able to snip. Harry steadied himself, his fingers making a cutting motion as he murmured a quiet spell. There was a little spark of energy that crackled around his fingers.

_Well, it's now or never._

All the energy of the spell was buzzing in Harry's head, and he began to feel a little lightheaded as he brought his trembling fingers to inch closer to the sacred bond, closer to the one thing he thought he'd always have, to break that, to shatter every one of his fantasies, to make him stop believing in soulmates and love.

_My dear soulmate, _he thought to himself, his eyes fluttering shut, _I have adored you for the short time that I've had the pleasure to be yours.___

__"Harry…" suddenly, there was a quiet, shocked whisper coming from in front of Louis. Harry blinked his eyes open quickly and looked up, and watched as tears began to brim in Louis' eyes. "Harry, I… no it's- you don't have to do this." Harry looked at Louis confusedly, the spell diminishing as Harry reached up to wipe away stray tears escaping Louis' eyes._ _

__"What happened? Are you okay?" Harry asked worriedly. Louis nodded, but fisted Harry's shirt and buried his face into his neck, completely silent. There weren't any sobbing sounds, but Harry could feel the material of his collar getting a little wet. Looking over at El, he saw her face flicker through a million emotions, but predominantly, he saw hurt that he didn't know if she could ever recover from. Harry's heart broke, seeing everyone in the room so distraught and confused, and he gently tilted Louis' head up to look at him._ _

__"It's you," Louis whispered ever so softly, voice trembling the slightest. "It makes sense. It's… I'm right, right?" Relief rushed through Harry's veins, and he couldn't help but smile sadly at Louis, unable to just be happy when he saw El's expression seconds ago. Still, he couldn't ignore the floating feeling in his bones when he realised he wouldn't have to give up his soulmate tonight._ _

__"Yeah. It's you. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, I just… I just wanted you to be happy."_ _

__More tearful smiles and hugs were exchanged before Louis broke away and went to apologise to El. Harry stood back, mentally preparing his apology as well, giving them some privacy. Even if they hadn't gone all that far in their relationship, there still was a special bond, and Harry didn't want to intrude on that. After Louis nodded and stepped back a little, Harry immediately went to El. "El, I'm so sor…"_ _

__"Harry, save it. I just… I don't know. It's too much. I can't… I can't even begin to imagine what else you might be hiding from me. Hell, are you even _you_? Have you been, I don’t know, lying to me about other things? Because you didn’t trust me? I don't know. I need… I need to be alone, just… just me. I can't keep doing this to myself. I… I'm sorry Harry, I just don't think we can be friends anymore."_ _

__Harry wanted to pull her back, stop her from leaving, and tell her that they could work this out like every other problem they’d had before, but all he could do was watch as El ran out of Louis' apartment in tears. This time, she wouldn't be running to his dorm. This time, Harry couldn't be the one to take care of her. And that broke his heart. They had gone through so much together, it was hard to imagine that there’d ever be an obstacle big enough to separate them completely, leaving no room for compromise or agreement. He felt his tears welling up as well, but tried his best not to break down because Louis was already looking at him incredibly concerned, and he didn't want to worry him anymore._ _

__And maybe one day, quite a few years down the road, Eleanor and Harry would bump into each other again. Harry would see that the man following behind her was attached to her by that sacred red string. And maybe Harry would let her in on that secret, that she’d found her forever, and she'd thank the heavens that that bond wasn't sacrificed because of a little whim she had in her early twenties. Maybe they'd exchange numbers, give each other happy nods before each going their way, and then proceed to be glued to their phones with a stupid grin on their faces for the rest of the week trying to catch up on each other's lives and reconnect. Louis would wiggle his way into Harry’s embrace, reading the texts while he typed and remembering that fleeting romance that he had with Eleanor Calder, one of the strongest girls he’d ever met, even to that day. And perhaps they’d even go on double dates, and things will settle down, and they’ll live happily ever after._ _

__But for now, Louis slipped his arms around him comfortingly, nuzzling his neck; and Harry let his embrace surround him, comfort him. Things were not perfect, and just because he now had his soulmate didn't make things all that much easier. In fact, it turned his life on its head and left him confused about how he should move in from here. But now, at least there was something that Harry so clearly had to fight for, it made him feel like he had a new purpose in life. And maybe, that's what a soulmate was for. To challenge you to do things you'd never dream of doing, and force you to see things in a different light. At the same time, a soulmate could be home, a warm loving hug when everything goes wrong. Harry had to learn a thing or two about sacrifice. A soulmate was hard to find, and even harder to fight for._ _

__Trust me, it's definitely worth it._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Check in with me on [tumblr](http://lamelyanonymous.tumblr.com) anytime to let me know your thoughts!


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